Automatic fire-extinguisher



G; L. HORAGK.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

(No Model.)

No. 313,423. Patented Mar. 3, 1885.

NITED STATES AIENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. HORAOK, OF BROOKLYN, NE\V YORK.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 313,423, dated March 3, 1885.

Application filed S. ptember 12,1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. HoRAoK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire-Extinguishers, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to construct an automatic fire-extinguisher in such a manner that its outlet be closed by avalve secured in its position by ajoint to be broken by the heat of a fire, and that a deflector be brought into a position in front of the outlet or outlets after a fire has broken out, its motion being made to depend upon a spiral spring, which is also adapted to act upon the valve after the deflector has begun to move, thereby keeping 5o ter is supported by the lever L, the lower end I P and the cap 0 around the hole h in such a 100 said valve free from the influence of said spring until the moment the same is required. Another object of myinvention is to arrange said spiral spring in such a manner, and to place it in such a position, that the same be protected against injurious outside influences which might tend to destroy it, and that after afire has broken'out its lower end may be used for supporting the deflector in a position in front of the outlet.

Another object of myinvention is to so construct the device as to permit of removing and again replacing the valve without breaking or interfering with the solder joint.

I attain these objects in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

Figure 1 represents a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a side view, of an automatic sprinkler constructed according to my invention. Figs. 4 and 7 show details, and Figs. 3 and 8 variations, of said device. Fig. 5 represents avertical section, and Fig. 6 a side view,of another device embodying some of the leading features of my invention.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 4, D represents a dischargenozzle, forming part of the casting R. The capshaped valve V surrounds said dischargenozzle, and thereby closes the outlets contained therein. The valve V has attached to it by means of screw-thread the cap 0, and the latof which rests upon a projection on the post M, while its upper end is attached by means of fusible solder to the lug E. The upper edge of the valve V is made to rest against the lead seat Z. To firmly seat the valve against said seat, it is only necessary to screw the cap 0 toward the lever L. a: w are upright ribs attached to the inner surface of the distributer. The use of these ribs permits of forming lateral outlets in said distributer by entirely cutting in two said surrounding wall. This, while being easy to construct, would offer the further advantage of allowing the extinguishing-fluid to spread more uniformly than if there were a series of holes cut in said surrounding wall.

S is a spiral spring. The same is inserted from below within the body of the casing R.

O is a cap below said spring. Its outer edge is attached to the casing R by means of' screw-thread, while its inner edge is made to form a water and air tight joint where it is made to rest on the lead seat Z. The lower part of the wire forming the spiral spring S is bent in such a manner as to move downward through the hole him the protecting-cap 0 while the spring S is expanding, and to take hold near its lower end of the deflector P. The extreme lower end of said wire is made to maintain a position directly above the rim r of the cap 0, as more fully described hereinafter. Said rim 1' should preferably be given the form of a hexagon to facilitate the taking hold of it when it is desired to tighten the valve by screwing the cap 0 along the valve V toward the lever L.

It is important to guard the spiral spring S against accidental strokes, as well as against moisture or acids, frequently contained in the air, particularly in manufacturing establishments. For such purpose said spring is entirely surrounded by the outer part of the casing R and the protecting-cap 0, except where its lower extension passes through the hole It in said cap 0. To effectively close said hole, and at the same time .maintain the deflector P in the elevated and protected position' shown in Fig. 1 until a fire occurs, I apply fusible solder y between said deflector the upright ribs :1: x of the distributer D.

manner as to construct there an air-tight j oint. It will be seen that thus the coiled part of the spring S is protected absolutely against injurious outside influences. When a fire occurs, the solder joint 3 will be broken by the heat, and the spring will expand downward, carrying with it the deflectorP until the same reaches the position shown in Fig. 2,where one side of it rests on a projection on the postM and the opposite side on the projection a on lug A, the lower part of the wire, forming the spring S, also servingto steadyand confine said deflector P. It will readily be seen that by giving the straight part of the wire forming the spring, which is made to pass and slide through the hole h the proper length, the projection a, for supporting the deflector, might be dispensed with. This straight part is located directly opposite one of the ribs :0 x, so as to least obstruct the distribution of the extinguishingfiuid. The extreme lower end of the wire forming the spring extends below the deflector and to a point somewhat above the rim 1" of the cap 0, as shown in Fig. 1, and it will therefore be seen that no pressure can be exerted by the spring S upon the valve V tending to open it until a fire has actually broken out and the solder joint 4, which attaches the deflector P to the cap 0, has been broken,thereby allowing the lower extremity of said spring with the cap 0, owing to their .own weight,

Will always have a tendency to move downward in case of a fire, and consequently the action of the spring S, described above, upon the valve V will only take place and be required in exceptional cases, such as sticking of the valve V to its seats, or of the lever Lto the points where it is being supported.

Fig.4 represents a horizontal section through It is desirable to have the lateral discharge of the extinguishing-fluid as uniform as possible. If there were simply a number of independent perforations provided in the surrounding wall of the distributer O, a corresponding number of separate and independent streams would be discharged against the deflector, and the distribution of the water would be apt to be particularly copious in front of said perforations.

In my distributer, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, I fully divide in two parts its surrounding wall, but connect these two parts rigidly by means of the upright rib m x. This makes the discharge more uniform, and, besides, is easier to construct. The cross-section of the deflector P, as represented in Fig. 1, shows that the lower part of the same, which is nearest the distributer D, is turned upward. This is done to prevent the escape of too great a Sam 6.

The lever L, which is represented to be made of two thicknesses of sheet metal fastened together, is attached by means of the fusible solder joint J to the lower part of said lug A. The projection f on the casing R,against which it is made to rest on the other side without being soldered thereto,will prevent the solder joint J from being ruptured accidentally, owing to any strokes applied to the lever sidewise.

The advantage of using a detachable lug. A, as indicated, is that when it is desired to examine the condition of the distributer D it can readily bedone by first taking the strain off of the lever L, (screwing for such purpose the cap 0 slightly toward the valve V,) and afterward withdrawing the screw B. It will then be possible to remove the lever L with the lug A attached to it without breaking the solder joint connecting the two.

Fig. 3 shows a modified construction of the valve closing the outlet and of the lever and of the devices for adj usting the same. Fig. 8 is a side view. In this case'I provide a projection, d, on the valve V to be exposed to the action of the spring S in a similar manner as the rim 0 is in Fig. 1.

To tighten the valve I use the screw G, passing through the lever L.

m and m represent two lugs attached to the casting R. The pin Z passes through the hanger A, and is made to rest in a horizontal groove on top of said lugs m and m. The lever L, which is shown to be constructed of two thicknesses of metal fastened together, is attached to the lower part of A by means of the fusible joints J and J. The part of the lever soldered to A is constructed forking to prevent. the accidental knocking oif of the In this case the lever L, and with it the hanger A, can be detached by either removing the pin Z first, or else, in case said pin should be made fast to the hanger A, by turning the screw G downward, so as to take the strain 011' of the lever L, and afterward raising the upper end of the lever L, so as to lift the pin Z out of .the groove in the lugs m and m, and then swinging the lever L out: ward and downward.

The depth of the solder-joint J being much greater than that of J, it will be seen that shortly after the downward motion of the lever commences, in case of fire those surfaces of A and L that are secured to each other by means of the joint J will become entirely detached. This will in a great measure do away with the danger of the upper edge of L binding and sticking on A.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I show another form of a distributer using outlets, each fully dividing in two parts the surrounding walls and ribs :0 00, attached to the inner surfaces of said walls and rigidly connecting said parts of said walls. In this case two such outlets are shown, constructed so as to produce intersecting streams. A spiral spring, S, is again inserted within the body of a casting, R, and serves to assist in removing the cap If after a fire has broken out.

In order not to obstruct the distribution of the extinguishing-fluid, I provide two standards, S and S, in connection with the spring S. When said spring expands, these standards are pushed upward by the same lifting up the cap W, so as to permit the water to escape freely. I place these standards opposite two of the ribs x as, so as to least obstruct the discharge of the water. A check, 0, is attached to the casing R, as shown in Fig. 5, after the spring has been inserted, so as to prevent its coils from assuming a position in front of the outlets. A lead seat, I, is provided on the casing R, between the spring S and the distributer, for an edge on the valve W to rest on. This will keep the extinguishing-fluid from reaching the spring, as well as the continuous solder joint J which attaches the cap W to the casing R until a fire takes place.

I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a distributer for fire-extinguishing purposes, the casing R, in combination with the spiral spring S and the cap 0, having an opening therein, as explained, substantially as set forth.

2. The casing It and cap 0, in combination with the spiral spring S and the lead seat Z, substantially as setforth.

3. In a distributer for fire-extinguishing purposes, the casing R and cap 0, in combination with the spiral spring S, one end of which extends through an opening in said casing, and the deflector P, soldered at y, substantially as set forth.

4. A fluid-distributer for fire-extinguishing 5o purposes provided with a detachable lug for the main fusible joint, whereby said joint may be temporarily removed without breaking the same, substantially as and for purposes set forth.

5. A fluid-distributer, in combination with a valve closing the outlet thereof, alever supporting said valve, and a detachable lug to which said lever is secured by a fusible joint, substantially as set forth. 6O

6. A fluid-distributer, in combination with a cap-shaped valve screw-threaded on its outer surface, and an auxiliary cap screw-threaded on its inner surface and attached to the valve by said screw-threads, substantially as set forth.

7. The casing R, spring S, and cap 0, in combination with the valve V, lead joint Z, and lever secured by a fusible joint, substantially as set forth.

8. The casing R, spring S, and cap 0, in combination with the valve V, deflector P, lead joint Z, and lever secured by a fusible joint, substantially as set forth.

9. A distributer for fluids provided with an annular deflector the edges of whose central opening are turned upward, substantially as set forth.

10. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, a valve held by a fusible solder joint and a spring held by an independent solder joint, a seat for said spring being provided on said valve in the path of said spring, substantially as set forth.

CHAS. L. HOBAOK. Witnesses:

WALDORF H. PHILLIPs, JOHN S. KNIGHT. 

